Nurture yourself by connecting to Nature
It feels, restorative, expansive, inspiring, and calming to my whole being to be outside. In the words of a client of mine, ‘something about being in nature just right-sizes my problems.’ It’s one of my favourite ways to self-care these days - to take myself for a walk in nature. There’s an intuitive aspect of the value of time in nature that is far from new, and that’s also backed by research supporting that time in nature is important for mental wellbeing. Getting outside is an evidence-based intervention, and yet many of us are both physically and psychologically disconnected from nature. Interestingly, while our contact with nature can vary – including actual time in the outdoors, as well as bringing nature in with plants or photos of nature – an important idea is our connectionwith nature. Time can make it hard to get out in the world-wide-world as much as we may like to, but the sense of connectedness with nature can be an interesting one to explore.
There’s a lot of theoretical explanations for why we experience wellbeing from being in nature and connectedness to nature – ranging from stress-reduction, innate biophilia, and attention restoration – yet for us as individuals, focusing on the felt sense of how nature makes you feel may be a source of rich insight.
Felt-Sense number 1: mood
Do you notice a shift in your in-the-moment feelings when you connect with nature? Even a short walk in nature, or sitting and looking out, can shift things in a big way. We can often overlook how much of a difference it can make, especially when we’re struggling. We see our life challenges and interpersonal struggles as being bigger than what a walk can fix and so we don’t bother. The restoration that we get, and the (even) brief shift in affect, however, can help resource us to work through our challenges, come up with creative solutions, and also, we can value that self-care, mood-supporting benefit even in absence of anything else in life getting sorted out. We deserve to do things that just feel good and enjoyable and to, when possible, make them more of a priority.
Felt-Sense number 2: meaning
Do you find that being outside changes how you feel about the world and yourself? Feeling more connected to nature can be a source of both meaning in life and a sense that your life is meaningful. Being in nature is oftentimes an opportunity to really be yourself – to be further away from the judgement of others, and even the judgement of yourself. It’s a great opportunity to feel your aliveness and feel that you, as a human being, are a part of nature, a part of something bigger. Nature invites a sense of awe, inspiration, and even spiritual transcendence. Standing at the edge of a powerful sea, or an ancient forest, or even just witnessing little animals going through their seasonal shifts can feel magical.
Felt-Sense number 3: what comes along with nature
When you go out in nature, what do you love about it? Maybe it’s the warm sun on your body, fresh air in your lungs, the calming effect of a wide sky, or moving your body more. Exercise, sunshine, fresh air, little animals, awe-inspiring sights, sense of seasonality – there are lots of add on bonuses that go along with nature. Spending time in nature with loved ones, or solo reflection time, or creating a little garden, or even talking about special memories of places you’ve seen can all have a positive benefit to you.
Getting more time in nature, or a closer connection with nature, starts with the value we place on it which is going to be intrinsically linked with what that felt sense is your you. What does time in nature give you? The mood-boost, the meaning, the hard-to-put-into-words feeling, the restoration, the break – whatever it is, I invite you to explore that and see if you don’t feel the call to the great outdoors, in whatever is accessible to you today.
